


Shift of perspective

by bloodandcream



Series: Ship all the Ships [17]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/F, innocent sappy fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-19
Updated: 2014-11-19
Packaged: 2018-02-26 06:07:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2640935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bloodandcream/pseuds/bloodandcream
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kim was sitting close next to her, looking between Hannah and the sky. She wasn’t certain what was in the woman’s expression. Although she could see the pulse of the woman’s soul within her vessel, Hannah couldn’t read the thoughts inside her mind. There was a time Hannah thought that the angelic sight she had could tell her the secrets within a person, but that wasn’t the case. Kim placed a hand on her arm, touch light, and leaned towards her. Hannah sat still, watching, confused, until Kim’s lips touched hers and she jerked.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shift of perspective

"I understand the three beans, but, what’s the surprise?"

Hannah studied the bean salad through the clear film wrap. There were definitely multiple kinds of beans, but it was mixed with other ingredients and she couldn’t tell visually what everything was. She didn’t think a surprise would be something one would want in their food. Nonetheless, she carried it in to the living room where Castiel had sat down. Only he wasn’t sitting anymore, he was curled up on the couch with his hands tucked under his head and his eyes closed, sleeping.

Setting the bowl down quietly, Hanna took his coat off the back of the couch and draped it over Castiel. He was susceptible to fatigue, illness, injury. His vessel was weak and growing increasingly more human as his grace ebbed away. Yet he would not accept help. It was abhorrent to consume another angel’s grace, but there was still fighting and death among them. It would not be that difficult to trap a dying angel’s grace and use it until a more long term solution could be found.

Hannah was not certain which of them was in the right. Castiel for his stubborn righteousness. Or her, for her practicality. Perhaps it should concern her more, how much she valued Castiel’s life. Every life was sacred. But they needed him.

Trying not to disturb him as she crossed the room to the door, Hannah let herself out of the house and stood on the small stoop. It was a pleasant night, the sky clear above her. Wandering down the steps and through the yard, it looked like Kim, the tow truck operator, had a mechanics shop of sorts set up here. There were various cars in the yard and a large garage. Hannah found a picnic table next to it, and sat down on the bench to turn her gaze skyward.

The stars were so beautiful here. From the perspective of a vessel’s eyes earth bound. Although she had always admired her Father’s work in every aspect, it felt different here. She felt smaller in this vessel, constrained, and the world around her was so much larger than when she could exists as a thought wave through multiple planes of existence simultaneously. Her perception as an angel in a human vessel was greater than a humans and less than an angels. It took adjustment. Patience. But the stars were beautiful.

She was seated facing out on the bench with her elbows rested against the table, head tilted back to the sky, when Kim’s truck rumbled up the gravel drive way. Hannah stood and watched as the young woman turned her car off and got out, pausing when she saw Hannah.

"Not able to sleep, huh? Are you still shaken up from the accident?"

"No, I’m fine. I don’t sleep."

Kim stared at her.

"Much." 

Kim nodded and lowered the door to the truck bed, hefting a tire up and carrying it into the garage. Hannah trailed after her.

"Isn’t it customary for humans to sleep during night time? Why are you still awake?"

Kim gave her a strange look, lips twitching.

"Yeah, I guess that’s pretty customary. But I work whenever I need to. My sleep schedule is so out of whack I can nap whenever I want."

Hannah nodded, as Kim made her way back to the car for another tire, and Hannah reached in to the truck to pull one out and carry it into the garage with her.

"We certainly appreciate the help. Castiel is anxious to reach his friend soon."

"Your boyfriend seemed really worried. I hope everything is ok."

"Oh, he’s not my boyfriend."

"Husband?"

"No. We have a close friendship. We used to work together. I guess, we still do."

Kim nodded, rolling the tires to prop against a wall near where their car was lifted up on some sort of mechanism that allowed them to stand underneath it. Kim gestured Hannah over, and pointed to several things underneath the car. Hannah had no idea what she was talking about, but nodded politely.

"You’re lucky there’s no damage to the undercarriage that’ll need fixing. But the alignment is off. I can fix that up and put on the new tires. One needed a new rim. It won’t take long."

"Thank you."

Kim gave her a nod and a smile before moving off to gather a few tools. Hannah found herself hovering in the doorway uncertain if she was supposed to leave or not. But then Kim was waving a hand at her.

"Hey, can you hold this still for me?"

Hannah stood where she said, and held what she said, and passed her a tool when she said. Kim seemed to appreciate the extra hand, and Hannah was certain the work got done faster. It was still dark outside when they finished, and as much as Castiel wanted to leave as soon as possible, Hannah would rather him be fully functional.

Kim was washing her hands off in a sink, a smear of grease on her forehead and cheeks flushed with the exertion. Hannah realized she had grime on her hands as well, and instead of automatically fixing her appearance she went to the sink to wash like Kim did.

"Thanks for the hand, you’ve got a real strong grip."

"I’m happy to help."

Kim lowered the car and turned it on, pulling it out of the garage and parking it. She passed the keys to Hannah. Sitting back down at the picnic table, Hanna watched her fetching two water bottles from the small fridge in the garage, bringing them outside and sitting down next to her. Kim passed a water bottle over, and Hannah accepted, even opening and drinking it.

"So were you out here star gazing?"

"Yes. The skies look so different here."

"I know what you mean, I lived in the city for a few years, the pollution was terrible. I’d take the fresh air and the clear skies out here any day."

Hannah nodded, turning her gaze back to the sky. The moon had already dipped below the horizon and the dark inky spread of night was growing lighter, soft cerulean blues at the fringes and the sun would be rising soon. She’d watched the sun and moon from the heavens, the curve of the earth and the swirl of clouds. Yet it was more majestic from down here, waiting patiently for the sun to make it’s rotation, watching the sky lighten slowly as the world woke in gradients.

Kim was sitting close next to her, looking between Hannah and the sky. She wasn’t certain what was in the woman’s expression. Although she could see the pulse of the woman’s soul within her vessel, Hannah couldn’t read the thoughts inside her mind. There was a time Hannah thought that the angelic sight she had could tell her the secrets within a person, but that wasn’t the case. Kim placed a hand on her arm, touch light, and leaned towards her. Hannah sat still, watching, confused, until Kim’s lips touched hers and she jerked.

Kim flew back, a grimace on her face.

"Sorry, sorry, that was really inappropriate. Gosh. I’m just bad at reading signals. You know how it is, single mom, working all hours of the week, I don’t really get out much.”

Hannah sat slack jawed, brow creased, watching Kim nervously fidget and apologize again, scooting away from her.

It seemed an odd concept, to kiss someone so brazenly, but human intimacy was an odd concept itself. She’d never felt a desire as base as human lust, or at least had never been aware of such. Yet the longer she spent earth bound constrained in a physical vessel, Hannah had suspicions that there were many things out there she never comprehended as an angel, things that might be worth knowing. She had to admit a certain level of curiosity - which she attempted and failed to tamp down - about the nuances of humans. About why Castiel would choose a human over heaven. And why angels would hide from the heavenly host when they had opened the gates again. And why Metatron was so enamored of their stories. They were complicated creatures. Flawed.

The world didn’t only look different from this perspective, from within a vessel, it felt different as well. Grace acted as a buffer between the angel and the vessel. Hannah preferred it that way. Grace kept the basic needs of human organic life and decay from affecting the angel, it kept pain to a minimum, it honed the senses as needed, it lent strength. But Hannah knew if she let the buffer of her Grace thin and shift, she could feel through it, feel the vessel, feel the human there. Pulling it in to herself, the sounds of night changed from a catalogue of singular identifiable noises to a lower thrumming that blended together, the breeze of warm night air was pleasant across her face, she could feel the splinters in the table beneath her hand.

It was dangerous, to seek knowledge outside what was ascribed as appropriate. It was unnecessary. But there was a secret inside humans that scared angels. Shifting down the bench closer to Kim, who was staring at the sky with a scrunched up face, Hannah placed a hand on her back between her shoulder blades. Kim turned to her, her pretty eyes dark, lips barely parted. Hannah closed the space between them, pressing her lips to Kim’s.

A hand settled on her thigh as Kim twisted around to lean closer and fit into her space better, head tilted and mouths pressed together. Breath across her cheek, lips moving against her, Hannah opened to Kim and let the warmth between their bodies seep through her skin, breath catching in her throat and heart beating fast behind her ribs. It was a strange autonomic response to the physical proximity of another. Not entirely unpleasant however.

Kim pulled back, cheeks flushed, her hand on Hannah’s thigh squeezing gently.

"You don’t do this much do you?"

"No."

"That’s all right. Can we just sit here?"

"I would like that."

Kim slid into her space, ducking underneath the arm that Hannah still had on her back and curling under it. Hanna shifted, draping her arm over Kim’s shoulders, leaning back against the table and Kim rested her head on Hannah’s shoulder tucking against her neck. Hannah sat stiffly, uncertain, tucking a stray fall of hair behind Kim’s ear. Kim sighed and molded against her. Hannah, feeling a pleasant hum under her skin of warmth and idle ease, finally relaxed.

The sun was half way over the horizon line, bright orange spreading up into the highest parts of the sky, pink fringing the tops of trees and houses. Birds were waking up, and a dog was barking in the distance. Kim slung an arm over Hannah’s stomach and squeezed her in what must be some form of hug before straightening up.

"Sorry, again, I get weird at night. I should probably go get breakfast for the kids."

"It’s fine. I enjoyed your company."

"Good. I hope you get to your friend on time."

"I have faith that everything will work out as it needs to."


End file.
